About the Episcopal ChurchWelcome to the Episcopal Church—a community of faith that seeks to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed. The Episcopal Church is the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States, Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe. As of 2010, it is a church of 2,057,292 baptized members making it the fifteenth largest Christian denomination in the U.S. In keeping with Anglican tradition and theology, the Episcopal Church considers itself "Protestant, yet Catholic."  We hope you join us!

 

The church was organized shortly after the American Revolution when it was forced to separate from the Church of England, as Church of England clergy were required to swear allegiance to the British monarch. It became, in the words of the 1990 report of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Group on the Episcopate, "the first Anglican Province outside the British Isles." Today it is divided into nine provinces and has dioceses outside the U.S. in Taiwan, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. The Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands encompasses both American and British territory.

 

The Diocese of Newark

The Newark Diocese is a dynamic, diverse community of God, with 108 congregations. Its size and resources rank it in the first tier of dioceses in the Episcopal Church. Under the leadership of our current Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith, the Diocese has developed a strong, forward-looking vision for the future.

 

* We are called to be passionate disciples of Jesus, living in covenant with each other and God, fully equippped, empowered and angaged to undertake God's mission in the world.

* We are called to be a Covenant People who embrace the richness and beauty of worship that knows no confines other than the Holy, joined together by our fierce love for one another and sharing a Common Prayer

* We are called to step out in audacious faith, spiritually formed by a rule of life that resonates with God's promises, empowering people to become alive and confident in their faith.

* We are called to enter into the ever flowing stream of God's justice, emblodened by the Holy Spirit to claim the Gospel, which calls us to stand up and speak up wherever we encounter injustice against both humankind and this earth.

* We are called to practice radical hospitality and live into God's abundant future, celebrating the many talents with which God has endowed each of us.

* In faithful response to God's leading us beyond what we ever thought was possible, we recognize and respond to the need for institutional reformation that will incarnate Christ's holy mission for our times.

 

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Isn't it time for religion with relevance? Watch and share this new powerful message from the Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal Church was active in the Social Gospel movement of the late nineteenth century. Since the 1960s and 1970s, it has opposed the death penalty and supported the civil rights movement and affirmative action. Some of its leaders and priests marched with civil rights demonstrators. Today the Church calls for the full civil equality of gay men and lesbians. Most dioceses ordain openly gay men and women; in some, same-sex unions are celebrated with services of blessing. In 2009, the Church's General Convention passed resolutions that allowed for gay and lesbian marriages in states where it is legal. On the question of abortion, the Church has adopted a nuanced position. About all these issues, individual members and clergy can and do frequently disagree with the stated position of the Church.

The Episcopal Church ordains women to the priesthood as well as the diaconate and the episcopate. The current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first female primate in the Anglican Communion.